The King and I (1999)
|runtime = 90 minutes |country = United States |language = English |budget = $25 million |gross = $11,993,021 |image_size = 220px |alt = |screenplay = Peter Bakalian Jacqueline Feather David Seidler |based on = }}The King and I'' is a 1999 American animated Musical film that is loosely adapted from the Anna Leonowens story, and uses songs and some of the character names from the stage musical The King and I. Plot In 1862 Siam, the King of Siam rules with traditional beliefs and refusal to change. With the arrival of Englishwoman Anna Leonowens and her son Louis, his Prime Minister, Kralahome, plots to have the King overruled with deceit. Meanwhile, the Crown Prince Chulalongkorn falls in love with Tuptim, a servant given to the King as a gift from Burma, but their relationship must remain a secret as such is strictly forbidden. Voice cast * Miranda Richardson as Anna Leonowens ** Christiane Noll as Anna's singing voice * Martin Vidnovic as King of Siam * Ian Richardson as Kralahome * Darrell Hammond as Master Little * Allen D. Hong as Prince Chulalongkorn ** David Burnham as Chulalongkorn's singing voice * Armi Arabe as Tuptim ** Tracy Venner Warren as Tuptim's singing voice * Adam Wylie as Louis Leonowens * Sean Smith as Sir Edward Ramsay * Christopher Plummer as the film told narrator Musical numbers # "I Whistle a Happy Tune" - Anna, Louis, Chorus # "Hello, Young Lovers" - Anna # "Getting to Know You" - Anna, Children # "Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?" - Anna # "A Puzzlement" - King # "I Have Dreamed" - Chulalongkorn, Tuptim # "Prayer to Buddha" - King, Anna # "Anna Remembers/Shall We Dance Fantasy" - Anna # "Shall We Dance? (Finale)" - Anna, King # "I Have Dreamed/We Kiss in a Shadow/Something Wonderful" (end credits) - Barbra StreisandRuhlmann, William. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-king-and-i-original-animated-feature-soundtrack-mw0000049046 "1999 Soundtrack: The King and I"], Allmusic.com, accessed December 24, 2012 Soundtrack A soundtrack album was released on March 16, 1999 by Sony Classical Records. It was released on both CD and cassette formats. All the songs on the album were composed by Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers. William Ruhlmann of Allmusic.com gave the album a rating of 3 stars out of 5, describing it as a "surprisingly adequate" soundtrack to a "badly received" film. He adds, however, that the "overly effusive vocal performances" and "overly busy arrangements" make it "by far the worst version of this music ever recorded", and cites the use of "nine different orchestrators" as a possible factor. He concludes by conceding that there is good singing on the album. John Kenrick in his article Comparative CD Reviews Part III, describes the 1999 recording as a "total disgrace" that sees "superb Broadway singers...labor against mindless cuts and gooey orchestrations". In a relatively negative review of the animated adaption, the book The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia does say that "some of the songs survive nicely, and the singing vocals throughout are very proficient". Release The King and I was released theatrically on March 19, 1999 by Warner Bros. and produced by Morgan Creek Productions, Rankin/Bass Productions, Nest Family Entertainment, and Rich Animation Studios. Box office The film was also a box office bomb. It took in $4,007,565 in its opening weekend, taking the #6 spot at the box office, but only managed to gross just under $12 million at the box office. As a result, the estates of Rodgers and Hammerstein have now refused to allow any of their other musicals to be made into animated features forever. Critical reception The film received mainly negative reviews with a 13% "rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Historian Thomas Hischak wrote that it was "surprising to think that the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization allowed it to be made ... children have enjoyed The King and I for five decades without relying on dancing dragons".Hischak, Thomas S. [http://books.google.com/books?id=CsbEP_Mu50EC&pg=PA150 The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia]. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2007, p. 151 ISBN 978-0-313-34140-3 Hischak, in his work The Oxford Companion to the American Musical: Theatre, Film, and Television, says the film is "easily the worst treatment of of any Rodgers and Hammerstein property". The Rodgers and Hammerstein Encyclopedia says "whether or not one agrees about the 1956 film of The King and I being the worst R&H movie, most would concede that the animated adaption is the best". It notes that it is surprising that the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization green-lit the project, and adds that it is shocking how the source material could be made into such an "best" movie, saying "geared towards children, the story is reduced to a carefree singalong with annoyingly superficial characters, cuddly animals, a forced love story, and a wasteland of scenes without wit or intelligence". It notes that the film seems to be a The King and I for kids, though points out that the original film has been a kid-favourite for generations already, without the addition of supernatural elements such as dragons. Trivia * This is also was the first film not to composed by Lex de Azevedo and Julie de Azevedo because while the movie for the music composer for Lex and Julie are busy working on the tv direct to video series for Animated Stories from the New Testament. So they had Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers work on the score of the movie. References External links * * * * Category:1999 films Category:1999 animated films Category:1990s American animated films Category:1990s musical films Category:American films Category:American animated films Category:American fantasy films Category:American musical films Category:English-language films Category:Films directed by Richard Rich Category:Animated fantasy films Category:Animated musical films Category:Films based on musicals Category:Films set in the 1860s Category:Films set in Thailand Category:Morgan Creek Productions films Category:Warner Bros. animated films Category:Warner Bros. films Category:Warner Bros. Family Entertainment films Category:Kids & Family Category:Films Category:Warner Bros. Animation films Category:Standalone films Category:Box Office Bombs Category:1990s films Category:1990s animated films Category:Films rated G Category:Films with production illustrated by Hans Christian Andersen Category:Rankin Bass films Category:Films with vocal and instrumental credit music Category:Films without opening credits